Mold for casting anode-plates.



No. 823,977. PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906.

N R. TRUSWELL. MOLD FOR GASTlNG ANODE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.9. 1905.

INVENTOR x Richaml Tru ucell. 1 BY ATTORNEY thickness, free UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn.

MOLD FOR OAS-TING ANODE'PLATES.

Specificationof Letters Patent.-

Patented Jun 19, 1906- Applioation filed October 9, 1905. Serial No. 281,950.

To all whom it may concern/. r

Be it known thatI, RICHARD TRUSWELL, a clt zen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at the town of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Molds for Casting Anode-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved mold for the casting of anode-plates such as are used in the electrolytic refining of metals, and is designed to provide plates of more uniform from warp or twist, and o of greater soundness, in their freedom from dross or sponginess, than such as are made under the present practice. In the present practicethese plates are usually cast on the horizontal in shallow ed and require to be hammered flat before use. Otherwise with the limited clearance between the plates in the trough the adjacent plates mi ht contact. Being cast in open molds an without head of fluid metal the plates are also ofirregular thickness and subject to flaws, which as the plates become reduced in thickness cause portions to break away, and these broken portions lie on the bottom of the trough and may contact with adjoining plates and short-circuit the current, causing not only loss of power, but involving the loss of time and labor in removing broken plates from the trough which have not been fully used up. I have therefore designed a mold in which the plates can be cast on end with the u per part or head ofthe plate downward, t us insuring a sound flat plate of uniform thickness andfree fromflaws,

particularly in the upper part. I further so construct the mold and support it on trunnions on a truck or car that after casting it may be run out to the tank-room, the mold inverted, and the portion inclosing the head opened, when the plate may be withdrawn from the mold in a condition ready for immediate use.

The particular construction andoperation of the mold are fully set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the. drawings which accompany it.

Figures 1 and 2 Y are profile views of the plates for which the construction of the mold is particularly adapted; Fig. 3,-a front elevation of the mold mounted as for pouring; Fig. 4, a cross-section of the same on the line A A in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, an end elevation of the fiat open molds and are in consequence considerably warped and twist-.

mold inverted after casting and with the mold opened'for removal of the cast plate; Fig. '6, a detail cross-section of the slide and nut of the opening portion of the mold; Fig. 7, a

detail section showing a modificationof the form of joint between the head and plate portion of the mold by which the partswhich inthe body of the mold.

In the drawings the anode-plate is represented by 2, that shown in Fig. 1' being provided with. laterally-projecting horns 3, by which the plate is supported on the walls of the trough, and that shown in Fig. 2 having e es 4, which are usually bent and cast into t e plate, but which in my mold may be cast with the plate. These parts render the drawback necessary, which will be later described, and it must be understood that, although the mold is illustrated as made for the form ofplate illustrated'in Fig. 1, the same construction of parts is equally applicable to that illustrated in Fig; 2 or to any modification in the form of the head.

The main body or plate portion of the mold is formed of two recessed parts 5, secured together by any suitable fastening, such as bolts or rivets, so that the recesses when together will leave a space 6 to form the mold of the lower or uniform portion of the plate, and theserecesses are carried to the end of the mold, so that the metal ma be poured from that end, which forms the lbwer end of the plate when in position in the trough. The head of the plate, including the horns 3 or eyes 4, as the case may be, is formed 'by two portions 7, each having recesses 8 to form the desired width and shape of head, which they entirely inclose, and these portions 7- are slidable outward from the middle plane of the mold a sufficient distance to clear the mold from the projecting portions which has been cast within it. The contiguous edges'of 7 on 5 are beveled, as at 8, so that they'will form a close joint when together, while they may be drawn freely b ack.

Each draw-back portion 7 is furnished ateach side with outwardly-projecting members 9 ,by which they are slidably supported on V-shaped slides 10 on brackets 11, projecting from the sides of 5 adjacent, and the parts 7 are slidable to or from the plane of division by screws 12, having right and left hand threads on their opposite ends, which, respectively, pass through corresponding nuts 13, secured by screws to the parts 7.

close the head arev sustained when inverted to of the plate IIO - These screws 12 are supported in bearings 14,

' These engaging lips upwardly projectin from the outer ends of the brackets 11', an are rotatable therein by a hand-wheel 17 on either one or the other, while a shaft 15, extended between the two screws and connected to them by bevel-pinions 16, enables them to be simultaneously operated.

' The mold is pivotally mounted by trunnions 20, secured to or forming a part of the plate portion 5 in a frame 21, provided with wheels, and is furnished with a hand-wheel 22, by which it may be inverted in the frame.

In the operation of the device the parts 7 are tightly closed through the operation of the right and left hand screws 12, and the mold is inverted to bring the open end of it uppermost, as in Figs. 3 and 4. The metal is then poured in, and the mold may be run on its carriage into the tank-room, and when the metal is set the mold is again inverted, the parts? Withdrawn, as represented in Fig. 5, when the plate may be drawn from the mold. A slight amount of draw may be desirable in the width and thickness of the plate toward the open or pouring end of the mold to facilitate removal of the plate from the head end.

It may be found necessary to directly support the head end members 7 to the main body or plate members 5 when the headmold is closed to enable them to sustain their weight and that of the fluid metal within the mold, for which purpose some such modification as is shown in Fig. 7 may be adopted, wherein a joggle or engaging lips 18 are provided on the contiguous edges of 5 and 7. will secure these parts of the mold against movement apart endwise.

With this device the plate being cast in an inclosed mold will be of uniform thickness and not liable to be warped and twisted, and beingcast on end and under a head of fluid metal it will be sound and free from spon iness and dross, which will rise toward t e gate or place of pouring, and being at the ower end of the plate when in place in the trough its defects will be less injurious.

aving now particularly described the construction and operation of my invention, I hereby declare that what I claim as new, and desire to be protected in by Letters Pat- )n, 1s-

1 1. In a mold of the class described; the combination with a portion composed of two recessed pieces secured to ether to form a mold to cast that portion 0" the plate having a uniform width and thickness, of two laterally and oppositely movable members contiguous thereto and recessed that when together they will form a mold to complete the irregularly-formed head portion of the plate, means for forming a close joint between. the plate-forming and head-forming portions of the mold, brackets outwardly projecting from the plate-forming portion having V- guides on which corresponding V-shaped guides of the head-forming portions are op- Eositely slidable, bearings at the ends of the rackets in which are rotatable screws having right and left hand threads at the opposite ends, nuts corresponding to the screwthreads which nuts are removably secured to the head-forming portions of the mold, means for simultaneously rotating the screws to ad.- vance and retire the head-forming portions, trunnions for sustaining the mold in a frame or carriage provided with wheels, means for reversing the position of the mold on the trunnions, and a gate through which metal may be poured into the mold.

2. In a mold of the class described, the combination of a main body portion havin a chamber to form the main portion of the plate, a head portion forming a continuation of the main body portion, and separable therefrom, said head portion comprising a pair of sections engaging one another, a plurality of reversely-threaded screws passin through said head-sections for moving said head-sections toward or from each other and toward or from the central vertical plane of the mold, means for simultaneously operating all of said reversely-threaded screws to move the head-sections toward or from each other while maintaining their parallel relation, a carriage in which said mold is mounted and means for turning the mold on a horizontal axis to invert the same, said headsec tions having a tongue-and-groove connection with the main body portion of the mold, substanti ally as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

R. TRUSWELL. Witnesses:

PERCY DUNKERLEY, F. W. ,WARREN. 

